"As entropy increases, the universe,
and all closed systems in the universe, tend naturally to deteriorate and lose
their distinctiveness, to move from the least to the most probable state,
from a state of organization and differentiation in which distinctions and
forms exist, to a state of chaosand
sameness. In Gibbs' universe order is least probable, chaos most probable. But
while the universe as a whole, tends to run down, there are local enclaves
of whose direction seems opposed to that of the universe at large and in
which there is a limited and temporary tendency for organization to
increase. Life finds its home in these enclaves. It is with this point of
view at its core that the new science of Cybernetics
began its development."

"As communicators (of any type) and as communicatees
(of any type), about all that we can do, as Norbert Wiener suggest
in _The Human Use of Human Beings_
(1954), is to try to create "islands of decreasing entropy," where
messages retain or gain, rather than lose, data."-J.C. Merrel, John Lee, E.J. Friedlander, Modern
Mass Media (on message entropy)

Extropy, according to the
official Extropian Principles (version 2.5), is "a measure of intelligence, information,
energy, vitality, experience, diversity, opportunity, and capacity for
growth." Extropianism, then, is "the philosophy that seeks to increase
extropy."

The principles themselves are five in number: Boundless
Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology,
and Spontaneous Order. They make up the handy Extropian acronym: BEST DO
IT SO!

The thinkers who have best explored
the metaphysical
implications of this idea are neither mystics nor information scientists. Rather,
they have been science
fiction writers such as Thomas
Pynchon, Philip
K. Dick, Isaac
Asimov, and Michael Moorcock. The essence of this mystical view could be summarized
as follows: the universe is a living, self-evolving,
multidimensional system. Where the flow
of information is restricted and narrowed (closed systems), entropy and degeneration
set in; within open systems which receive energy and information transfers from
outside, "dissipative structures" actually expel entropy, raise improbability,
and promote complexity); the importance of information is ultimately to make the
universe self-aware and overcome its own inevitable entropic "heat death."

track _Energy & Information_
MP3
by Young American Primitive

trip hop acid
jazz track _Heat Death Of The Universe_ MP3
by Fila Brazilia off of _Luck Be A Weirdo Tonight_ CD on Twentythree#008
(1997)